By Mark Trahant
We are the story: A long line of us. Say it’s holiday travelers at airports. You know us: We’re the ones waiting patiently for security clearances so we can board an aircraft.
This is us because you look at the long lines from beginning to end and you see America. We are a nation of differences, colors and hues all waiting in one line. It’s even like the new TV commercial, "I am an American."
The news media has been careful to portray the long lines so that they do, indeed, represent the new character of this diverse nation. The stories show a people who convey patience and understanding. They say they don’t like the lines, but they understand why.
Then these stories ring true because so many of us see it for ourselves. We know instinctively that air travel cannot be the same as it was before Sept. 11. We even know that it might never be the same as it once was.
But this national narrative, the strand of long lines, misses an important part of the story. It overlooks the Fault Lines.
Fault Lines is a framework that we can use to better understand our society. It’s based on the work of the late Robert C. Maynard who believed that five fault lines – race, class, gender, generation and geography – are enduring forces that shape and explain the experiences that make up the American character.
So why should we break down a long line by looking at Fault Lines? The answer is to look at how the story changes once we add elements that change our point of view.
Consider the Fault Line of class. Look at the people in the airport lines again. Who do you see? Do the stories show every color, include every income level, and, people from every part of the nation?
Of course not.
Start with the segment of the population who never flies. Never. That group, some 17 percent according to a recent Gallup poll, is even less likely to fly now. These are people who are not in line and not often a part of the story.
On the other end of the scale are the people who always fly. People like me (I am on an airplane about once a week). Granted: Our travel is not the same as it was before Sept. 11. We cannot go to the counter a few minutes before a flight and still expect to make it.
But, at the same time, if you travel a lot, you stand in fewer lines. You go to the airport and there’s a special frequent flyer desk – so you zip past that first line. Then you stand in line with everyone else to get through security, that part is same for all. But that one line doesn’t change the fact that we get special privileges at airports. Many of us even wait in a special club, sipping coffee or drinks, until a few minutes before our flight is called. Similar special waivers from the long lines are granted to those who travel first class.
This country has class inequality in airline travel; differences that don’t show up in the single news narrative about the long line.
The Fault Line of geography also should be a part of the story. Many news organizations have reported, for example, about how some airports have shorter lines than others. But the geographic distinction is even greater between urban and rural airports. At many small airports, for example, the counter crew is the same as the security crew. So counters are closing some 30 minutes prior to the flight so that the crew can ready themselves at the security check. There’s not a long line – but if you show up at the last minute for a flight you won’t make it.
An interesting story idea might examine how to fund a federal security workforce at airports with only two or four flights a day. Will we soon see the combining of regional airports for security reasons?
Race, and some gender, stories have been a part of our discourse. We all recognize the stories about racial profiling or inappropriate searches by security personnel. But there is more to this story – in all its complexity. Looking at news through a different perspective is what makes the Fault Lines framework so effective.
We are the story when we see ourselves in print or on TV. It shouldn’t matter if we travel -- or don’t. Or wait in line -- or don’t. We still should be included in the news.
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